Cleveland Gay Man Assaulted By 20-Person Mob

Police are investigating a mob attack in Cleveland that left a gay man with lacerations to his face. Jared Fox says he was assaulted by a group of up to 20 people who lobbed homophobic slurs outside the Cocktails Lounge in the Ohio City.

“Last night I was the victim of a hate crime. I was walking into a bar on Detroit Avenue in Cleveland. I was walking from my parked car. I got out and I saw a group of youth on the side of the street,” Fox said in a YouTube video detailing the attack (below). “Instincts and my experience with youth was that kids in a large group just aren’t up any good.”

“They started to just charge and they surrounded me. They thought I was an easy target.”

"They just started beating me," Fox continues. "They punched my glasses into my face and sliced it right there" he said while pointing to the cut on his nose. He said he also suffered a ruptured eardrum. "They stomped on me, my back, my ribs while I was on the ground."

"One of them asked 'Do you want to die?'" Fox says. "I thought 'No, who wants to die? Not me.'"

Fox says that he begged a passing car for help to no avail, then proceeded to pound on the doors of nearby homes. No one responded. He instead credits his rescue to bartenders and the EMT personal.

A police investigation into the attack has been launched with no immediate leads.